With around 50% of UK businesses identifying a cybersecurity incident in the past 12 months, knowing what to do in the immediate aftermath of an attack is crucial. Cyber-attacks and data breaches are a pervasive threat and the most common type (84%) are phishing attempts. The average estimated cost of an attack is just under £10,800 for medium and large businesses.
But let’s not forget that cyber attacks are just one cause of cloud data breaches. These can happen due to employee errors, misconfigured settings, system failures, and third-party data sharing vulnerabilities.
Whatever the reason for the data breach, you need to know what to do so you can act fast. Building robust Cyber Incident Response capabilities is almost non-negotiable in the current threat landscape. In this article, we’ll cover the 6 immediate steps you need to take after there’s been a cloud data breach.
#1. Confirm the Data Breach
When you suspect there’s been a data breach, you must confirm its legitimacy. Cybercriminals trick people into sharing their data by using psychological tactics. Phishing emails are often used as a way to make you respond quickly.
Contact your IT department if you suspect data has been breached. They will help you to verify if it has occurred and provide information on what exactly has been breached. Avoid telling people about the breach until it is confirmed and has been properly assessed.
#2. Identify What Data Has Been Breached
With the breach confirmed, you’ll need to understand the extent of the breach. This is crucial for any business but especially for those that deal with sensitive customer information like financial records or personal details.
Call centres, for example, are especially vulnerable to data breaches. You may want to look into a call centre solution for your business and ensure that it has an extra set of built-in security. In cases where your call centre has been affected, identifying the specific data at risk is vital. Appropriate stakeholders need to be informed. This includes both IT staff, who will be able to help you fix any security issues, and legal advisors too. This allows you to ensure you fully assess the potential impact of the incident.
#3. Strengthen Account Security
Containing the data breach is crucial, and you need to act fast. Depending on what’s caused the breach, you’ll need to inform various teams. This might mean all staff need to create new passwords, for example.
Other key considerations are your third-party solutions. Many UK businesses have adopted remote desktop solutions like those offered by RealVNC to facilitate remote and hybrid working. For businesses using third-party solutions, you’ll need to ensure they’re securely configured and that only authorised personnel have access to them.
